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Senate Grapples With Tax and Safety Net Legislation

The Senate will continue trying this week to break a partisan logjam over a major package of tax changes and safety-net spending, including added unemployment benefits.

The Senate’s inability to advance the bill is a sign that the partisan discord in this highly competitive mid-term election year is causing legislative paralysis.

And a major impetus to complete the measure was removed last week when the Senate agreed on a six-month plan to prevent a steep cut in doctors’ Medicare fees.

A fear that older Americans could begin losing access to health care prompted the short-term deal, but some lawmakers may now feel less urgency to finish the broader bill.

The Senate may also take up a small-business lending measure. The House approved the small-business bill last week with just five Republicans voting in favor of it – a further sign of the hardening partisan divisions on Capitol Hill.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, said the legislation, which would provide $30 billion for loans, is crucial to helping small businesses emerge from the economic downturn.

“Small businesses are the creators of jobs in our country, they are the creators of capital,” Ms. Pelosi said at a news conference on Thursday, where she also took a dig at Republicans for opposing it. “For too long now, the Republicans in Congress have favored Wall Street over Main Street.”

The House this week may push forward with a bill to rein in special interest groups by requiring more disclosure of their roles in paying for campaign advertising.

The bill is intended to counter a Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations and unions to pour money directly into campaign ads, a potentially big influence on races.

But the measure hit a snag last week after authors of it agreed to an exception for the National Rifle Association, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington.

That prompted Democrats to extend the exception to other groups in hopes of securing more votes but they still seemed short. Most Republicans oppose the bill.

The House is also still working on a supplemental war spending bill approved by the Senate last month. Some House Democrats want to add money for schools and public safety, as a way of providing economic aid to state and local governments, prompting further debate about the nation’s mounting debt load.

“We are trying to pay for some of the things that are in the bill,” Ms. Pelosi said. “And when we get our pay-fors, we will proceed to the floor.”

Senate and House negotiators will also continue work on an ambitious overhaul of the nation’s financial regulatory system.

The televised conference proceedings on that bill will resume on Tuesday and could be completed by the end of the week. Both chambers must approve the final bill.

President Obama drew criticism on Thursday when he said, “we don’t have a strategy yet,” for military action against ISIS in Syria. Lawmakers will weigh in on Mr. Obama’s comments on the Sunday shows.Read more…